1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
This invention relates to an apparatus and method of using fluid or wind de-organizers which are mounted on moving objects such as, but not limited to, motor vehicles, or to objects over which liquids or air flows.
2. Background Art
Since the creation of motor vehicles, designers and engineers have attempted to reduce air drag to increase the efficiency of the vehicle. Aerodynamic designs have proliferated throughout the years. Initially, it was believed that the smoother the surface, the faster and more fuel efficient the motor vehicle would be. However, it appeared that the opposite results were obtained. These results were confirmed with the design of golf balls. When dimples were added to the surface of golf balls, they would travel farther. The placement and texture of the dimples is the subject of several patents such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,937 to Dalton, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,283 to Gobush, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,727 to Shaw, et al. The purpose of these wind de-organizers is to disturb the air flow so as to reduce the friction as the air passes over the object, or the object passes through the air. Air passing over a smooth object creates friction between the smooth surface and the air. By placing dimples or "chevrons" on the surface of airplanes, skin friction can be reduced by thirteen percent (13%). "Bumps to the Rescue", Murray, Popular Science, 1998. The present invention takes this concept one step further. By fastening tabs or adding protrusions to the surface of a motor vehicle, the performance and fuel efficiency of the vehicle can be enhanced. In addition, the stability of the vehicle is increased by the use of the tabs or protrusions.
Most prior art for air diverting apparatuses are used for deflecting the air flow from a certain portion of the vehicle for noise reduction and the like. These include U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,753 to Steffanoff and U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,305 to Watzlawick, et al. Other spoiler devices are designed to direct the air flow in a manner to keep the vehicle on the road surface, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,931 to Nelson. Spoilers such as rear spoilers on automobiles do nothing to help the air flow over a vehicle. They merely use the air that has already passed over the vehicle to create a down force to the rear end of the vehicle.
Other prior art patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,203 to Morelli, teach the use of fan blades attached to the wheels of a vehicle, venting air to the bottom edge of a truncated tail to form stationary ring vortex, which reduces drag.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,145 to Harris discloses the use of a plurality of cavities on a rear portion of a tractor trailer for reduction of drag.
Front spoilers merely keep air from getting underneath the vehicle so as to help eliminate lift or in effect, making the vehicle stick to the road better.
However, none of the prior art discloses the use of air de-organizers, placed to break up the smooth flow of air over the motor vehicle to improve the efficiency of the motor vehicle.